A Walk in the Woods
by Kathy-Chase
Summary: On Ginny and Harry's wedding day Luna Lovegood meets Charlie Weasley. Charlie is rugged, adventurous and yet to be tamed. Flirtations between the two leads to an adventure in which Luna is invited to Romania to meet the dragons and help work with some of them. While in Romania sparks fly... and not just from the mouths of dragons.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Luna Lovegood looked into the mirror on the landing of the Second floor of the Burrow. Today was Ginny and Harry's wedding and she was to be a bridesmaid with Hermione and Ffleur. Her dress was pale silver. It was beautifully elegant, she decided. She was grateful Ginny didn't force her to wear heels; it would have been rather difficult to walk along the grass.

The house was buzzing with activity and preparations. Suddenly there were footsteps from upstairs. They moved around a bit, stopped, and then began to descend the stairs. Luna looked towards the mouth of the stairs as one of the older Weasley boys came into view wearing black shorts and a white t-shirt with a dragon on it. His feet were bare. It certainly wasn't Percy, Luna thought. Percy was far too uptight to wear anything like that. Bill was with Ffleur, holding her hair back as she dealt with her morning sickness. So, she decided that this must be Charlie, the Rogue Weasley who lived in Romania working with dragons.

"You still have some shaving foam, you know. It's right there, above your lip," she said brightly with a smile as she pointed to her own lip as a demonstration.

Charlie wiped the foam off of his face.

"Thanks," He replied, smiling in return. "So, you're one of the bridesmaids?"

"Yes, I suppose that the tradition of bridesmaids having matching dresses rather makes it obvious, as well as more difficult to blend in."

"Right," he said with a devilish half smile. "I just figured you were because you look like the kind of girl my sister would be friends with."

"And what kind of girl might that be?" Luna questioned, tilting her head to one side with curiosity.

"Ah you know, different, out of the ordinary, the kind of girl who's a thousand kinds of trouble. You see, I taught my sister just how awesome those kinds of people are and now, you see, she's hooked."

"So, I'm the kind of person you're sister's friends with because that's the kind of person you'd be friends with?" Luna smiled at the look of surprise on his face.

"Err, yeah, I suppose so. I mean most of my friends don't wear dresses, but that'd be strange seeing as most of my friends are either dragons or of the male variety. Actually, I do have one friend who wears dresses…"

"And who might that be?"

Charlie grinned, inhaled so he could reply, but was cut off before he could get a word in.

"CHARLIE!" Mrs Weasley bellowed from bellow.

"I'll tell you later," He winked before galloping downstairs. Luna laughed as she heard Mrs Weasley's shrieks due to her son not being dressed for the occasion. She could just about hear him defending himself, saying his suit was ready but didn't want to get it dirty just yet and so refused to wear it until just before the ceremony started.

Charlie Weasley was by far the most eccentric Weasley Luna had the good fortune to meet, and that was saying something. She turned to look in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was in place before going to Ginny's room on the first floor.

When she walked in she saw Ginny in her wedding dress. It was difficult not to see her, she was so beautiful. Her hair was down, mostly, with some parts of it pinned up. Her dress was white and simple, but still beautiful. Ginny Weasley liked things to be simpler. The skirt of the dress flowed like waves of the ocean around her legs, ending just above her knees. A piece of lace was tied around her waist with a bow done at the back, courtesy of Hermione. Her shoulders were bare. The top of the dress looked like a corset, only not as tight and revealing. It was white with some silver beads which dotted it. Ginny looked at Luna, smiling.

"Why are you blushing?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not; I don't think I am - am I blushing, Hermione?"

Hermione turned to Luna and grinned.

"Luna, you're definitely pink in the cheeks."

"Oh, well I suppose it's only natural."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. She always liked to hear Luna's replies, they were always so strange. Sometimes she seemed as though she were dreaming but it was just the way Luna was. It was endearing.

"Well, I just met your brother, Charlie, for the first time. Isn't it normal to be like this after talking to someone for the first time?"

"Oh, Charlie has that effect on people quite often, especially when it comes to girls!" Ginny explained.

"Yes, I can see why I suppose. Is it the rugged look?"

Ginny's demeanour changed slightly, stress hinted in her eyes.

"Rugged? The ceremony is in 45 minutes! That bloody idiot is supposed to be spick and span! Is he in his suit yet?"

"Not yet, but I just heard him tell Mrs Weasley that he'll change shortly before the ceremony, don't worry."

"He'd better; I'll kill him if he doesn't."

Ginny turned to Hermione.

"Are you sure you don't want Ron walking down the aisle with you behind me?"

"I'm sure. He should be up there with Harry, to keep him grounded. I'm fine walking with George, don't worry."

"Ok, is everything ok with you guys?"

"Yes," Hermione replied hesitantly.

"No it's not, you want space from him. It's only natural, don't worry, everyone needs space once in a while."

Hermione smiled sadly.

"How could you possibly know that?" She asked.

"I have a tendency to notice things other people don't, for example I notice that Ginny's putting up a front, she's actually terrified of today. In a good way though," She added as Ginny glared daggers at her. Luna only smiled at her friend. "You are terrified but you're also excited, nervous and extremely happy. A mixture of emotions which is, once again, natural."

"Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Yes?" Luna replied with a smile.

"Be careful with Charlie, he's a bit of a player."

"What's a 'player'?" Luna tilted her head slightly to one side as she often did when thinking about something that made her confused.

"A player is more or less a lady's man," Hermione answered. "Someone who flirts with lots of different girls. Ginny's right, Luna, don't get sucked into him. He tried it on me when I first met him at Bill and Ffleur's wedding."

"Ok," Luna smiled. "But I don't think you're entirely correct. Men are often like that when younger until they meet someone. Men aren't like women, for obvious reasons and for less obvious reasons. Women often feel that they have been in love more than once and when they find someone new who they really fall in love with, someone they can't live without, they say it feels different than all the other times. This is because all the other times they think they're in love because their brains tell them it is love. We trick ourselves into believing we're in love. However the real love is felt from the heart, which is why it feels different. Men don't mess around with believing they're in love or with tricking themselves. When they're in love they know it, they don't feel they need to pretend when they're not in love which is why we often feel they're being horrible a lot of the time. They're honest, not horrible. Women should realise that, I think."

"Ok Loony Lovegood, great speech. Do you know where Ffleur is?" Ginny asked as she smiled at her friend's strange ways.

"Oh yes, she's just finishing up her morning sickness, she shouldn't be long now."

"How do you know she won't be long?"

"She told me just yesterday it usually finishes at around 10:45am at the latest."

"Oh."

"Would you like me to get you a drink or some food?" Luna asked.

"Some water would be great, thanks. I hate not being able to leave my room. Why couldn't Harry just sleep outside in a tent?"

Luna left the room and went down the rickety stairs and into the kitchen. Leaning against the sink Luna saw Charlie, who was talking to George. Charlie looked out of the corner of his eye when he noticed the air shift in the room. After working with dragons for so long he was able to sense minor changes in the air. It was a valuable skill because some of the more dangerous dragons could kill you in a second if you weren't careful. When he looked he saw the bridesmaid he had met on the landing. Her long, wavy blond hair cascaded down her back. The silver of her dress made her stand out even more. She walked with grace without seeming to try.

"Earth to Charlie, hello?" He heard George. Charlie tore his eyes away from the girl to continue his conversation with George.

"Sorry, could I just get to the tap?" He heard a silky voice ask seconds later. He turned again to see the girl standing just two feet away from him.

"Sure thing," He said as he moved from the sink closer to George. He felt a nudge in the small of his back from George which made him smirk.

"Charlie Weasley you get up those stairs right now and get dressed!" Came the booming voice of Mrs Weasley from the doorway. Charlie jumped in surprise before smirking at his mother, grabbing an apple and running upstairs. He would have to talk to that girl again later, he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry I'm taking so long to upload new chapters, I have a lot going on at the moment! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

Luna walked behind Ginny and Mr Weasley as they walked down the middle of the aisle towards Harry. Luna, figuring not much attention needed to be paid towards her walking, observed Harry and his actions. He was tense, nervous for sure. His hair, which had been combed several times since 10 o'clock, was messy once again. It was a habit of his to run his fingers through his hair when nervous. Although he was refraining from doing that in this moment he had done it at least a dozen times since standing there waiting for Ginny to walk into view. Luna could see the pride and the joy in his eyes as he saw Ginny. His entire body seemed to relax the closer his beloved got to him. He smiled at Ginny as though it were only the two of them with no one around for miles! Luna smiled as she witnessed all of this, not knowing, however, that she was being watched.

Charlie was seated in the front row of chairs on the right hand side. He watched his little sister enter the room but he couldn't keep his mind focused on her for long for seconds later the beautiful odd blond girl walked in. His heartbeat involuntarily picked up a pace or two as he saw her glide. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes were glazed slightly, as though she were in deep thought, or in a trance. Following the direction in which her eyes were going he realized she was watching Harry, who was a nervous wreck he decided. _No sane man could stand there and not fall to jelly from the fear, _Charlie thought.

The ceremony went by without a hitch. After the ceremony was over the food and the party began. The gazebo which had been used at Bill and Ffleur's wedding was out and up once again with music playing. Luna was sitting at a table with Hermione at the back of the gazebo. Hermione was hiding from Ron who was trying to find her for the fifth time that evening.

"I just want a moment alone, is that too much to ask?"

"Not at all," Luna replied.

"You should tell that to Ron, he doesn't seem to understand." Hermione sighed and put her head on the table.

"Can everyone please gather round, the Bride and Groom are about to have their first dance!" Mr Weasley's voice boomed from the dance floor.

Hermione and Luna made their way through the crowd so they could see their best friend's first dance. After a few minutes other people began to join. Ron found Hermione at last and asked her to dance with him. Hermione obliged. She felt happier about the situation all of a sudden. Luna stood watching all her friends dancing when she felt a slight breeze beside her. She looked to her left and was face to shoulder. She looked up to find it was the shoulder of Charlie Weasley. He leaned towards her slightly so she could hear him speak.

"I think we should dance, don't you?" He asked. She smiled out of the corner of her mouth, he really was quite bold!

"I think it would be appropriate," She replied before taking his outstretched hand so he could lead the way.

They danced slowly with the music, talking as they went.

"Were you watching Harry at the start of the ceremony? Or were you just looking in his general direction while thinking?" Charlie asked.

"Both, I was looking at him and thinking about his actions and how they show people how he really feels, despite looking so frightened."

"Oh, and how did he 'feel' then?"

"He was nervous, naturally, but he was happy and excited about starting a new adventure with the love of his life."

"Are you sure he wasn't just frightened because he was basically signing his life away?" Charlie chuckled. Luna just smiled at him. Being so close to him she could notice a lot of details. His eyes, for example, were dark green with dilated pupils. His hair wasn't too long, but it was long enough for Luna to grab onto, if she so desired. It was darker than the rest of the Weasley family's hair, but it was still definitely ginger. It was slightly wavy, she noticed. His aroma was dark, fiery even. As she breathed him in she felt as though she was surrounded by smoke and fresh wood shavings; it was a heavenly scent.

Charlie smiled back at her. Now that they were closer he could see her eyes. Even in the dim light he could tell they were a grey-blue colour; it was truly unique to her, so far as he knew. The scent of parchment and herbs invaded him. He let the smell roll over him, into every pore.

"What kind of dragons do you work with?" Luna asked, interrupting his train of thought. The music changed to a more upbeat pace so they left the dance floor to continue their conversation. Luna directed him to the table at the back where she had been with Hermione before the dance. Charlie held her hand all the way to the table before letting go to pull her chair out for her.

"Sorry, what was your question?"

"I was just wondering what kinds of dragons you work with?"

"Well, mostly I deal with the baby dragons. You see, a lot of the mothers don't like to bring up their young so it becomes my responsibility to look after them for the first month or two of their life. The amount of time I need to spend with them usually depends on how quickly they grow. The dragons I work with mostly are Norwegian Ridgebacks."

"Norwegian Ridgebacks, like the one Hagrid used to have? Harry told me you helped them take the dragon away from Hogwarts before Hagrid got into trouble, is that true?"

"Norbert? Sort of, I helped Ron organise the rescue. I tell you what, that dragon had a lot of fight in him! I don't know how Hagrid managed to keep him for so long without his entire hut being burnt down."

"Yes, well he does have quite a way with magical beasts. Have you met him? I think you two would get along."

"Have I met him? Of course I have, he helped teach me most of the things I know today about dragons. He was one of the only people at Hogwarts who actually knew decent information about him. To be totally honest with you, I wasn't surprised when I found out he had a dragon. He's been after one since before I left Hogwarts!"

"I can believe that. I wish I had been there when he had Norbert, I would love to see a baby dragon hatching. How is Norbert doing now?"

"He's doing very well, I had to look after him for a while when we first got him; he'd been mothered a lot and needed to be handled rougher. Anyway, I managed to toughen him up with some help from some other wizards. A few months after we got him we were able to let him go, let him find his own way. He still comes back every now and then to wreak some havoc but that's to be expected. Most of the dragons we look after do that once they're free."

"That's so exciting, I wish I lived a life like yours."

Luna sighed dreamily. Charlie looked at her as she watched people dancing with the music. He found himself thinking about dragons and what she would be like around them. He'd never met a girl who would like to be around dragons. Most of the girls he got with admired him for his bravery but they also called him a madman for working with the beasts; they would certainly never go near the sanctuary he worked in. Luna, he found, was very different from all those other girls. He recognized a spark in her which would lead her wherever her curiosity wanted to go, even if it was extremely dangerous. He felt his lips involuntarily lifting into a smile. He tried to kill it but the most he could do was batter it down to a small grin.

"You could meet them, you know."

Luna was pulled out of her daydream; she had been imagining living in another country, hunting down crumpled-horned snorkacks to prove that they existed, when Charlie's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Sorry, what was that?" She asked with a smile. Charlie looked at her with shock. He couldn't believe he had just said that.

"I just, I mean, if you wanted, I was going to ask Hagrid too, you could come over to Romania and meet them. The dragons, I mean."

Charlie felt his cheeks burning as he kicked himself on the inside for being so stupid. Of course she wouldn't want to go away to a different country with a stranger to see dangerous, fire-breathing dragons! How stupid could he be?

"Ok," Luna said, smiling.

For a few minutes, which felt like a lifetime to Charlie, he was startled. He stared into her pale eyes, not quite sure what to say.

"Caught some wrackspurts?" She asked.

"Hmm?"

"Wrackspurts; they're little invisible creatures. They buzz around your head and make you feel all fuzzy and confused."

"Oh, yeah," Charlie had no idea what she was on about; he had never heard of… wrucsparts? Wrenpurts? Wrockspurts? He shook his head in confusion. Whatever creature she was on about, he had never heard of them before. "Cool!"

"Have you asked Hagrid yet?"

"No," Charlie realised he would now have to ask Hagrid to go to Romania as well. He figured in the end it would be ok, Hagrid was an old friend after all. "I'll go find him and ask him later. He should be around here somewhere."

"I think he's drinking; he's with Horace somewhere and they always drink quite a lot when they're together."

"I'll ask him in the morning then."

Luna and Charlie were quiet for a while, both of them thinking. Charlie was thinking about what he could say; for once he wasn't sure what to say to a girl! This never happened to him, He was one of the best of the best when it came to chatting up women but all of a sudden he didn't want to. He wanted to talk to her, to learn about her life and what other imaginary creatures she believed in. He wanted to sit here all night and talk to her, but no matter how much he tried he couldn't think of a single thing to say. She made him feel nervous. Luna, on the other hand, was thinking about going off to Romania on an adventure! She would enjoy it, she knew. Finally she would get the chance to see a baby dragon, and possibly even help take care of it. Her mind was flowing with ideas and plans. Then she thought about what she would be doing the next day. She had planned to apparate to a forest for some peace and quiet while everyone else was dealing with their hangovers. She wouldn't have one, she knew. The only thing she ever drank that could lead to discomfort was potions. She wasn't planning on trying alcohol just yet, she didn't feel like it was time to introduce that into her life. She looked at Charlie. He looked like the type of person who would drink and become intoxicated and yet here he was, sitting with her talking about work. He was a rather easy person to talk to, she enjoyed his company.

"You've been talking to me all evening," She pointed out.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Charlie smiled at the blond haired girl, she truly was unique. "Sorry, did I go on to much about dragons?"

"Oh no, I love hearing about dragons. I think they're wonderful, I could talk about them all day," Charlie smiled.

"Me too."

"I was just wondering why you've been talking to me all evening. Not that I don't enjoy your company, I do, I just find it strange that someone like you doesn't mind talking to someone like me for so long."

"Someone 'like me'?"

"Yes, you know, the popular person with a wild streak."

"And you don't have a wild streak?"

"Not so much, I like adventures and all that but I don't really do things on impulse like I imagine you would."

Charlie looked to the dance floor with a smile. Mrs Weasley was sitting at a table on the other side of the dance floor. She had noticed that Charlie had taken a particular interest in Luna Lovegood and was smiling as she noticed the nervous look he was trying so hard to hide. She nudged Arthur, who was sitting next to her, then pointed at the two.

"Oh dear," Arthur said as he registered what Molly was pointing out.

"Don't they look sweet together, Arthur?"

"Yes, dear, should we be keeping an eye on them?"

"They're old enough to take care of themselves," Molly said with a sigh.

"Yes, Molly, but I know what you're like," Arthur smiled at his wife. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek before continuing to watch Ginny dancing slowly with Harry. He felt sad knowing his little girl wasn't a little girl anymore, but he was happy for her. He was also delighted to finally have Harry as an official family member.


End file.
